Almost there!!!

Almost there can mean several things today...

1. I'm almost done with E's room. It's painted, the carpet has been cleaned, and everything is dry and ready to have a new occupant. I am so excited. The wallpaper border should be here today and will really help tie the room together. I did realize I have a slight problem. The valance I have went across E's window in her old bedroom. 1 window. I now have 3 to cover. So I think I need to buy another valance. That will have to be shipped so there is no way I will be completely done by the time B gets home.

Here are some pics.

2. Speaking of B. Not sure I mentioned this earlier on, but he is in Mexico "on business" all week. They are in a small town called San Miguel. He says it's really beautiful there. I am ready for him to be home. Mostly so he can help me out and I can sleep some more. E is working on a tooth and she wakes up a lot at night. I wake up a lot at night too from getting kicked in the bladder. OUCH! He comes home Sunday night, late. We are both counting the hours.

3. Almost done with E's morning play time before her morning nap. Which means, possibly, a quick nap for me too!!!!

My baby, week 24

I realize that I have not mentioned anything about the pregnancy in awhile. Honestly, there is not much to tell. I am in the back 4 weeks of the 2nd trimester. Also known as the "feel good" trimester. That's why I am in such a rush to finish some high-energy projects. I also have the dreaded Glucose Tolerance test next week. Some of you may recall I failed that test with E and had to test my sugars 4 times a day for the last 3 months. Not fun.

The baby girl (the one in my belly) is getting much more active. She still isn't quite as active as J and E were, but at least I know she's still there. Here is what my newsletter says about her this week:

Your baby's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last
week, when she was just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long, that makes
a pretty lean figure, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon
put on more baby fat. Your baby's skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, her
brain is growing rapidly, and her taste buds are developing. Her lungs are
developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce
surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

The top of your uterus is now an inch or so above your belly button, which
means it's about the size of a soccer ball. With the skin on your abdomen and
breasts stretching, you may feel a little itchy
now and then. If your skin is dry, keeping it well moisturized may help. Also,
your eyes may be sensitive to light and feel gritty and dry. This is a perfectly
normal pregnancy symptom known as dry-eye. To ease your discomfort, use an
artificial tears solution to add moisture.

Room swap: days 3 & 4

Day 3 was actually last Friday. It was uneventful. I painted the pink section (the small area around the windows). It went pretty fast and was finished all in the time E normally takes her afternoon nap. I think the pink looks great. I can't wait to get the window treatments in.

Day 4 was yesterday. What a disaster! I thought I had the perfect paint color. It blended with the bedding and looked great (on a paint chip) next to the pink. Well, I got it on two walls and I hate it. It looks like a color you would see on the walls of a hotel room (a cheap one). There is little warmth to the color and I wanted something a little more creamy. So...after E's music class today we will stop by the paint store once again. I think the dudes at the paint counter know me by name now.

Weekend recap

We had a crazy weekend. We had a friend's first B-day party, a soccer game, another friend's (30 something) B-day party, and B's orchestra performed at church. I probably don't need to tell you we are all exhausted. Even E has circles under her eyes.

The soccer game was awful this week. I'm not sure if I mentioned, but last weekend J scored 3 goals in one game. All the dads were calling him the soccer stud. Nice hunh? This week our team only scored one goal all together. It was a frustrating game. Luckily the boys don't take these things too hard at this age. I should have some pics soon that I can post!

I was extremely busy all weekend helping B with most of the non-music details that go in to a concert. I skipped church on Sunday to help him type programs and finished as he walked through the door from church on his way to Kinkos.
WHEW!

The concert was absolutely beautiful. I always enjoy hearing B play, but this was his idea for a concert, his dreams and knowledge coming together in real life. It was wonderful. I have such admiration for my husband. He is so talented and natural at what he does. I don't think most people get to see the hard work of their spouses pay off like I do. As much as I complain about being married to a man with odd working hours, I am so blessed to be able to share in his music-making and livelihood. He is an amazing man! I love him very much.

Room swap days 1 and 2

DAY 1
So we started the long process this week. On Tuesday I got most of J's stuff moved into his new room. We haven't decorated anything yet, this can wait until all rooms are set. His bed still needs to be put on the frame and his dresser is still in his old room until we can move the computer desk into the new office (which will be after E moves out). It's actually quite funny because when he gets out of the shower he has to run in to his old room in a towel, grab some undies and run back into his new room. Plus, since we have to paint that room, there are no blinds in the windows and it faces the street. Poor guy! At least he is only 7. Otherwise I believe we could be cited.

J's new room

J exhausted from the move...

DAY 2

Today we started painting J's old room. First, we have to primer the parts that were red. We may have to primer the yellow too, but I am going to try my best to skip this step. I had just started painting when E woke up from her nap about an hour sooner than normal. This is as far as I got. Good thing there are only a few red accents!!!

Our aspiring little musician

Well, I have not posted much this week as there has been much to do and it is Spring Break. Those with school-aged children understand this. It's great because you get to spend a lot of time with your kids, but it can also be exhausting (becuase you get to spend a lot of time with your kids)! The good news in my case is that B was home most of the week with very little scheduled lessons or rehearsals.



He helped out a lot by spending more time wit E (I think he really missed her when he was in Houston, AND he leaves again Monday for a week). She was watching him one day as he practiced for an upcoming concert and he decided she should be able to play as well. She had her first hapsichord lesson. This lasted all of about 4 minutes. Then she started pounding the keys too hard and daddy told her she had to stop or she would break some strings. I don't think she heard him. Lesson over.

My baby girl is growing up!

Today E is 7 months old. It's a bitter-sweet feeling. The good is that she is getting so expressive and playful, the down-side is she doesn't let me hold her as long or cuddle whenever I want. In fact, I can hardly rock her to sleep anymore unless she is exhausted. :( Where does the time go? It seems just a few nights ago she was sleeping next to me in her tiny bassinet in our bedroom. Now she is cutting teeth and nearly crawling.

Even though I am so tired I can hardly hold my head up to type, I am thankful that I have had this opportunity to have another little and be at home with her day in and out. I believe our children can teach us how to love with reckless abandon. She doesn't care that I haven't yet combed my hair today. And when I go pick up my son he's not going to say "Jeez mom, your thighs are really fat". I will get huge smiles no matter what my mood, no matter if I have put up the dishes. We should all love like that!

Flying solo

Well, my darling husband left for Houston this morning. It was a crazy morning. J was running late to school, I could not pull myself out of bed and B was still drying clothes as he ran out the door. Also, as they left for school, my dad pulled up to drop off the crib we pulled out of their garage last night. So, while he was here he checked B's oil. I finally had to get up. E woke up right after they left and B came back home after filling up to give us one more hug (he probably knew E would be up and he could love on her). Anyway, it was sweet.

E was pretty sleepy (so was I) and we thought we would get another nap in. Just as we drifted off to sleep, our neighbors started ripping out their driveway with a massive jackhammer. This was at 8:30 in the morning (they are still going strong here at noon). We tried to ignore it, but this thing could wake the dead! I moved E into her bedroom and she finally dozed off around 10. Poor thing was exhausted (she usually naps from 8:30-10:30). I called B and begged him to turn around and come home, but he was already in Corsicana. I guess this will be a good test to see if we can all make it the whole week he is gone at the end of March.

It really shouldn't be too hard. I only have both kids after 3, and Jacob takes care of himself pretty much. E still naps 3 times a day. They both go to bed around 8 and I get the tv to myself for once!!!

The Great Room Swap of 2007

For the last two weeks I have been trying to motivate myself to start in on a project of massive proportion. Before Baby B arrives, there needs to be a room swap. We are not just talking about swapping two rooms here, this is major. While we do have 4 bedrooms and 3 children, we are just not ready to give up our office space. The girls will be sharing a room. Right now, E is in the smallest room of the house (hey, she got here last!). It's actually so small you can't even really call it a room. It was designed to be an office, but some yahoo decided to stick a closet in where it should not have been. Anyway, there is hardly room for all of her stuff so you can forget about adding another crib to the mix. Yes, in case you had not realized this before, we will have TWO babies in cribs.

J has the largest room, the most wall space and the most closet space (next to the master) so I asked his permission to take over his room. He could pick whichever remaining room that he wanted. Naturally, he wanted the office. He likes the cool blue tone of the walls and hey, honestly, it's a bigger room than E's. The good thing is that this room won't need a paint job. Phew!

So, the girls will take J's room, J will go into the office, and the office will be moved into the room it should have always been (the teeny room). I am really at a loss on how to do this so people lose the least amount of sleep here. I can move J on a weekend he is not here, that is easy. But E can't be moved until the new room is painted and the fumes have cleared. In the meantime...where will the computer go? There are no phone jacks in any of the other bedrooms. Our broadband is wired to this room only. So many issues, so little time.

I have already started. I boxed up most of the office and moved it out. Now I just need to move J in and paint E's room quickly. The rest after that will be a piece of cake...right? It makes me tired just thinking about it. So, if you know of anyone who likes to organize or paint, just tell them I am looking for them! :)

The twins

Irish twins is a slang term that refers to siblings born less than 12 months apart - usually in the same calendar year. It references a perception about families of Irish Catholics who may not use birth control (and thus may have children in quicker succession), but it is often used endearingly by the families of the "twins" themselves. (courtesy of wikipedia)

I had a regular OB appointment yesterday and as I walked in to the office, Dr G saw me out of the corner of his eye and asked "How are the twins?". It's become his routine question at our visits. It started back at the beginning when I was laying on the table during my first sonogram. When he said "we have a heartbeat!", I think mine stopped, then I made some comment about having Irish twins. Apparently he had never heard this term before and found it rather humorous. So, now it is the joke around the office whenever I have a visit.

Everything is going well. The anatomy scan report from the perinatologist was "perfect", so that was good news. Heartbeat was slower than normal, but still a strong 142. (Maybe she was asleep?) I have gained a total of 7 pounds which is great...until I remember that I was still up about 7 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight when I got pregnant. The good news is that when I told him I was working out again (since the placenta is nice and high) he said "great!". I have my glucose tolerance screen next time (4 weeks from now). Yuck. Hopefully this time I will pass. In the mean time, I have the "twins" to keep my mind off of it!

Miracles on Monday

For the most part, Mondays aren't the best days. But I believe Mondays can be great! Here's my reasoning...

About 2 years ago we were out with our small group for my 29th Bday. Blair, Lisa, Allen, Cynde, Brad and I were all in the car together and they all mentioned their intentions to add a child to their respective families. (B and I had started trying a few months before). Blair and Lisa went on to have a succesful pregnancy and, 9 months later, delievered a healthy baby boy, Nate. Allen and Cynde started the adoption process to add a baby girl from China and were logged into the system on the day Nate was due to be born. 2 months later, after an ectopic pregnancy and 2 miscarriages, B and I found out we were expecting again. 9 months later, on a bright August (Monday) morning, we delivered a healthy baby girl. The only family still waiting were A&C.

Well, I'm happy to say that after 2 years of waiting, A&C got their referral this afternoon, with pictures of their beautiful baby girl. She is just a few weeks older than E, which is great since they were hoping for a baby. She is absolutely adorable; such a miracle! Congrats guys!

See, Mondays don't always have to be bad!